Geneva still hopes to bid for the 2018 Winter Games despite opposition from Switzerland's national Olympic committee. City officials said Monday they would try to generate public support by opening a national debate on whether Switzerland should try to host the Olympics for the first time since 1948.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday opened a ski center that will be used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, calling it a good start for the many construction projects needed for the games. "This is the first sign of the preparations of Sochi as host of the 2014 Winter Olympics," Putin told jumpsuit-clad workers who built the facilities.

With Sochi's successful bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics comes controversy. It will do much to boost Russia's economy, President Vladimir Putin says. Locals say it leaves them vulnerable to land grabs by developments and the government. Environmentalists worry about the effects on the area's spectacular natural resources.

The largely desert nation of Turkmenistan plans to field its first Winter Olympic team at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. The president of Turkmenistan did not say in which events the Central Asian nation an oil-rich ex-Soviet republic might compete.